"senate republican leader mitch mcconnell said that gop lawmakers will wait for mitt romney to take the lead on immigration policy. most members are interested in what romney has to say about this issue and we're going to withhold judgment until that time." mr. romney was not just the de facto leader of the republican party. he was the stated leader of the republican party. now that he's lost the presidency, nobody thinks he's going to continue to play the leader of the republican party. mr. romney is likely to move to la jolla, california, to spend more time with his car elevator. but in his short time as leader of the republican party, when he was their presidential nominee, he made leadership decisions about the party. about what the party looks like to the rest of the country. he made leadership decisions particularly in terms of who he would dignify with his embrace. who among everybody in the republican party he, mitt romney, leader of the party would privilege. who he would elevate. he elevated the republican guy who wrote arizona's papers please immigration legal cause. he was h